Inductors are commonly used for filtering and energy storage in power supplies, such as in DC-to-DC converters. For example, a buck DC-to-DC converter includes an inductor which, in cooperation with one or more capacitors, filters a switching waveform. Power supplies including multiple power stages often include at least one inductor per power stage. Some power supplies, however, use a coupled inductor in place of multiple discrete inductors, such as to improve power supply performance, reduce power supply size, and/or reduce power supply cost. Examples of coupled inductors and associated systems and methods are found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,362,986 to Schultz et al., which is incorporated herein by reference.
Electronic equipment, such as information technology equipment, is often powered by one or more power supply modules. Power supply modules that perform DC-to-DC power conversion are sometimes referred to as “voltage regulation modules,” or “VRMs.” VRMs are used extensively in computing equipment.
For example, FIG. 1 shows a side plan view of a prior art electrical assembly 100 including a conventional power supply module 102. Module 102 has a buck-type topology and includes an output filter inductor 104 affixed to a module substrate 106. Additional components 108-116, such as switching circuits, controllers, and passive devices, are also affixed to module substrate 106. Inductor 104 is typically significantly taller than the other components of module 102. Module 102 is coupled to an assembly substrate 120, such as an information technology device motherboard, via conductive pins 122, only some of which are labeled for illustrative clarity. Conductive pins 122 provide an electrical interface between module 102 and assembly substrate 120. For example, module input and output current flows between module 102 and assembly substrate 120 via pins 122. As another example, pins 122 may couple data signals, such as control signals, between module 102 and assembly substrate 120.